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Magna Carta/Transcript
Transcript Title text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim & Moby Tim is sitting at his kitchen table. He is eating breakfast cereal and reading the back of the cereal box. Moby walks up to him and hands him a sheet of paper. MOBY: Beep. Tim takes the paper from Moby. TIM: A list of demands? He reads the paper. TIM: You want the right to use my bike without asking? Where's all this coming from? Moby hands Tim a second piece of paper. Tim reads from a typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, what's the deal with the Magna Carta? From, Gretchen. Magna Carta is Latin for great charter or great paper. It's a written agreement that puts limits on the power of English monarchs, kings and queens. An image shows a royal crown over a map of England. TIM: The Magna Carta was signed into law in 1215, under the reign of King John. MOBY: Beep. An image shows King John signing the Magna Carta. He is surrounded by military and religious figures and nobility. TIM: Well, it's an important document because it made the king accept that even he had to follow the law, and that ordinary citizens had certain rights that couldn't be taken away. An animation shows the English king finding a parking ticket on his royal coach. TIM: That makes it one of the earliest examples of constitutional law: rules that define the power and procedures of government. Before the Magna Carta, an English king could do almost anything he wanted. An animation shows the English king using a burning parking ticket to light his pipe. TIM: But English barons were fed up with King John over his high taxes. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Oh, back then in England, barons ruled parts of the country in the name of the king, sort of like how governors are in charge of the states here in America. In return for the king's protection and land rights, the barons would pay him with soldiers and taxes. An animation shows a baron handing the English king a big bag of money. TIM: But the king was supposed to meet with the barons before asking for a lot of taxes or extra soldiers. To finance an ongoing war in France, King John kept demanding more taxes and more soldiers. A political map shows England and France. TIM: By 1215, King John's armies were defeated in France, and the barons revolted. A political map shows that the English got pushed out of France. TIM: They took over London by force, and made King John sign a document called the Articles of the Barons. An official version was copied down about a month later, becoming the original Magna Carta. It contained 63 articles, or rules, detailing the rights of the barons and the limits of the monarchs. An animation scrolls through some of the articles of the Magna Carta. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, among other things, it laid out the right to a fair trial, the right to free travel within England, and the right to private property. Images of a judge's gavel, intersecting arrows, and a fence represent the rights Tim describes. TIM: And the king could no longer raise taxes without the consent of the barons. At first the Magna Carta didn't have much of an effect on the life of the average Englishman. The document gave rights mainly to noblemen and to the very rich. An animation shows an English peasant walking past a copy of the Magna Carta. He is oblivious to its significance. TIM: But as time went on, more and more of the Magna Carta's rights were granted to the rest of the population. And that led to England going from a monarchy to a constitutional monarchy, where the king or queen shares power with a parliament representing the people. An image shows the English king in the middle of a crowd of parliament members. MOBY: Beep. TIM: That's right: The Founding Fathers of the United States looked at the Magna Carta for guidance in creating the American Constitution. An image shows Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson examining a copy of the Magna Carta. MOBY: Beep. Moby hands Tim a sheet of paper. TIM: Oh, that's what inspired your list, too? Tim reads aloud from the list. TIM: The right to flush the toilet while Tim is showering. The right to eat Tim's homework. Tim looks at Moby. TIM: I will not sign this document. Moby looks annoyed. TIM: Never. Category:BrainPOP Transcripts